Ments



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER OSTWALD, OF GROSSBOTHEN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE CHIEJYIICAL FOUNDATION, INC., A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

METHOD OF PRODUCING AMMONIUM CHLORID FROM FUELS.

No Drawing.

To all to ham it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, IVALTEP. OSTWALD, a citizen of Saxony, Germany, and resident of Grossbothen, in the Kingdom of Saxony and Empire of Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Producing Ammonium Chlorid from Fuels, of which the following is a specification.

It is well-known that most fuels contain some nitrogen, and various attempts have been made heretofore to recover sueh nitrogen. For instance, it has been proposed to bring combustion gases containing nitrogen, into contact with gases containing chlorin, in the uptake or connection to the smoke flue or stack of any furnace in which such gases are produced, the object being to form ammonium chlorid; this procedure however, did not lead to the desired result, for the reason that the combustion of the fuel destroyed the ammonium chlorid. Another unsuccessful suggestion related to converting the nitrogen of the air into ammonium chlorid by the application of heat such as may be derived from combustion gases.

According to my present invention, the nitrogen contained in the fuel is recovered in the form of ammonium chlorid during the combustion of the fuel, that is to say, within the zone of combustion or of fire. For this purpose, I add to the fuel an amount of chlorids corresponding (that is to say, approximately equivalent) to the amount of nitrogen contained in the fuel, and either the latter is moistened with wa ter prior to combustion, or a jet of an aqueous fluid, as water or steam is directed into the zone of fire. As soon as the combustion raises the temperature to the point at which ammoniiun chlorid is formed, the chlorin of the chlorid originally added will combine in stat a nascendz', with the fixed nitrogen (that is to say, with the NH radical) of the fuel, and will thus produce ammonium chlorid. The chlorin ion which keeps the ammonium in chemical combination, has a peculiar protective effect, in that nitrogen compounds thus converted into ammonium chlorid will not be destroyed by the heat or decomposed to form free nitrogen.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

Application filed February 23; 1917. Serial No. 150,597.

I am aware the addition of chlorids to fuel charges has been proposed hitherto for the purpose of increasing the heating power of the fuel, and also of counterbalancing or neutralizing the effect of any sulfur that may be contained in the fuel.

I am also aware that it has been proposed to manufacture ammonium chlorid by drenching carbonized coal containing sulfur and nitrogen with a strong brine of common sea salt and water, and then bringing such drenched carbonized coal by subjecting it to a current of air containing at least 10 per cent. of steam. This process differs from mine in requiring a drenching action and the use of coal which is not only carbonized (coked) but contains sulfur; moreover, in the description of this earlier process, there is no statement directing the steam jet to be introduced into the zone of fire, and it is an important feature of the preferred form of my invention to have the jet of water or steam enter directly into the zone of fire.

Thus in the prior art so far as it is known to me, there is no evidence of any intention to combine the nitrogen of the fuel with the chlorin atom in statu nascemli and to thus produce ammonium chlorid.

The ammonium chlorid thus obtained may be converted into the usual solid salt form, by washing the combustion gases or smoke gases after cooling them, and by subsequently evaporating the washing liquid or lye which has absorbed the ammonium chlorid.

I claim:

The method of recovering nitrogen from fuels containing it, which consists in burning such fuel in the presence of chlorin while injecting an aqueous fluid into the zone of fire, whereby chlorin atoms are obtained in strain nascendz' and combine with the fixed nitrogen of the fuel to produce ammonium chlorid.

Having thus described my invention, I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER OSTWALD.

Witnesses:

RUDOLPH FRICKE, EUGENE O. HARTER. 

